US futures signal higher open; Twitter to price IPO

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Wednesday as investors await further U.S. data, earnings from leading blue-chips and the pricing of Twitter's much-anticipated initial public offering before the stock starts trading on Thursday.

U.S. stocks closed mainly down on Tuesday with Wall Street pausing after a two-session rise as data showed the U.S. services industry expanded more-than-expected in October offset softer economic headlines from Europe.

On Wednesday, however, European markets traded higher on earnings news while Asian markets traded mixed as investors awaited further direction from central banks in the U.K. and Europe.

Investors will be waiting until after the bell Wednesday for the pricing of Twitter's IPO. The offering is expected to price in a range of $23 to $25 per share, boosted from an earlier range of $17 to $20 per share. It intends to sell 70 million shares, an offering representing 13 percent of the company.